Entry Thread for the March 2022 SMF Challenge - Column Pour

[dibbles]

This is the entry thread for the March 2022 SMF Soap Challenge - Column Pour. You are welcome to post more than one photo, but the photo you want used for the voting survey should be at the top of your post. Your entry may include information about your design, process, colors, fragrance or inspiration.

After the closing date on March 27, 2022 at 11:59pm GMT the winning entry will be chosen using Survey Monkey. Voting will be open March 28-30, 2022 and the winner will be announced on March 31, 2022. There is no prize attached to this challenge.

Please post any comments to participants about their entries in the general challenge thread here.

Good luck everyone!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Scented with Nurture’s Black Raspberry Vanilla and the micas are mostly Nurture neons. I added a little Cheshire Cat to get the darkest purple shade.

How could I resist pouring over this?

edited: to add this photo of the soap in the mold.

 

[PepperJack]

Decided to try pouring over a rectangle of soap. They ended up looking like zebra stripes

I love that each bar is a little unique!

Thanks for taking the time to look and thanks for letting me participate in this challenge!

 

[AliOop]

Headed out on a last-minute work trip, so there will be no second try as I had hoped, nor time to clean up the bars or try to take better pics. C'est la vie.

As you can see, I used blue CP heart column embeds for my pouring columns, with the rest of the batter going in as an ITPS. My original plan was white, blue and green. But I'm pretty sure Nurture's Awaken FO did me a favor by turning the white into yellow; it turned out so cheery. And the whole ordeal of trying to cut it freehand from my slab mold pushed me over the edge into using a work bonus to purchase the Hercules cutting station, due to arrive while I'm gone.

So win or lose, this challenge was a success for me, because, new soap tools! Seriously tho, I enjoyed the column pour and plan to try it again with some other color combos and different items as the column.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Eeeek! I don't really want to follow any of those ^ but I guess someone has to. My challenge with the column pour is actually leaving the top as the design it's poured in. I think that gives the nicest effect. This is only the second time I've done a column pour, both times with the same column - an upturned bottle. However this time I used two bottles, instead of one. I cut the bottles a bit short and should have left more height. I glued a wee stone inside each to add some weight.
Note to self: Next time I do this I WILL leave the top as the poured design - with maybe some lines drawn in from the outside edges to the centre only - but with NO swirl.
Scented with Fig and Rhubarb - a favourite of mine that has now been discontinued
Photos in order are - the wet top, the sides to see the pour, and the entry pic last. I have a video of the pouring too - shall I put that in the sign-up thread?

 

[Leanne.reynolds922]

My first attempt at this was a complete fail as was the second. This is the result of my 3rd attempt. It was fun learning something new.

I used lemongrass essential oil and poured over a bowl. My colors morphed.

 

[Kathy_VaO]

First time for Column Pour. This was my third attempt. The first seized and the second got thick too quickly. So this one I left out the fragrance all together. Meh!

 

[Vicki C]

I made nine separate columns to make flowers - the posts are made from extruded soap dough and the petals were an ombré starting with red oxide and moving to yellow which is from lutein, a plant pigment. I made more red than I intended to and so had to skimp a little to make sure the petals ended up yellow, so the bars are thinner than what I had in mind. It is scented with helichrysum (sunflower) which I didn’t used to like and now love.
Of course, I am thinking about Ukraine. I am thinking of giving these bars away on my retail site with suggestions for charitable organizations that people might give to.

 

[Albertina]

My first attempt at this was a complete fail as was the second. This is the result of my 3rd attempt. It was fun learning something new.
View attachment 65258View attachment 65259
View attachment 65272
I used lemongrass essential oil and poured over a bowl. My colors morphed.

Your video is really nice. I need to ask: how do you get that enviable runny batter? I can never get my batter runny and I always have to rush pouring it into my mold. Should I ask the question in another thread?

 

[Leanne.reynolds922]

Your video is really nice. I need to ask: how do you get that enviable runny batter? I can never get my batter runny and I always have to rush pouring it into my mold. Should I ask the question in another thread?

My first 2 attempts I had batter that was like oatmeal! This 3rd attempt I actually mixed my lye water into the oils at a higher temp. I was around 130 degrees I think. Every time I let the lye water cool down I had batter that got thick too fast.

 

[Albertina]

My first 2 attempts I had better that was like oatmeal! This 3rd attempt I actually mixed my lye water into the oils at a higher temp. I was around 130 degrees I think. Every time I let the lye water cool down I had better that got thick too fast.

Thank you Leanne! So useful!

 

[dibbles]

As a reminder, this thread is for entry photos/posts only. Please post all other comments in the general challenge thread.

 

[Bobbie.1960]

I have the same problem. What temperature do you get you lye to when you pour into your oils? I love the swirls of the soap but with my batter so (oatmeal) thick I haven’t attempted any of these beautiful designs.

 

[dibbles]

I have the same problem. What temperature do you get you lye to when you pour into your oils? I love the swirls of the soap but with my batter so (oatmeal) thick I haven’t attempted any of these beautiful designs.

Please remember that this thread is for challenge entry photos only. You can ask questions or post comments in the general challenge thread, or start a new one of your own.

This makes it a lot easier when the time comes to create the voting survey if there aren't a lot of comments to weed through. Thank you for your understanding.

 

[~Dragonfly~]

I’m almost embarrassed to post mine after seeing all those! This was my third attempt. I used the bottom of a soda bottle and turned it part way through pouring. I do want to explore this more in the future, though I think I will swirl less and use better colors.

 

[Ladka]

I made the bar even before I signed in for the challenge and then almost forgot to publish it. Hadn't Dibbles reminded us ...
I don't have a slab mould so had to improvise. I lined my loaf mould with baking paper ten centimetres short of the entire length and poured the challenge bar directly into the remaining compartment. I poured over an old well cured rectangular bar of soap, swirld the surface, and when I removed the standing bar I swirled some more and still some more ... I do like the huricane swirl !
I used three FO's: lemongrass, bergamote and ocean. None of them speeds trace so I had plenty of time to prepare and pour both the OPW and the column pour.
For colours I used two micas: wine red and aquamarine with activated charcoal added to

both, and chrome oxide. The white part is plain uncoloured batter (lard, HO sunflower oil, coconut oil and castor oil).
I enjoyed the column pour very much and intend to do it again soon using different colours.

 

[Relle]

My colours are fluoro pink, yellow and purple, the sent is Energy. I poured over a smooth white rock in the corner.
Then swirled 5 times - first circles, then 2 diagonals, vertical and horizontal.

 

[peachymoon]

Ok everybody, here we go! This was a fun challenge and I definitely want to try this again on my own. I only had time to make one batch and the batter thickened up right away. I appreciate that the scalloping disguises it a bit, and I imagine if I’d swirled it, it would’ve been even more disguised! In any case, I’m happy with it. The fragrance I used is Smell the Rainbow, colored with Nocturnal mica/activated charcoal, Queen of Hearts, and Lemon Drop, all from Nurture Soap. I used a piece of soap I cut as the “column” and I poured a bit of white batter at the bottom before starting the pour.

 

[WhittanyWho]

I haven't tried pouring over an embed and leaving it in before. This was an interesting twist for me. The scent is afternoon tea from Nurture Soap, and the colors are all from Mad Micas.

 

[Jersey Girl]

i Made two attempts at this pour and I’m glad it was chosen for this challenge as I had been wanting to try a column pour for a looooong time, but never got around to it. I even had purchased a Bud Splitter just for the slab molds and never used it before this, so it gave me the opportunity to use two new tools. The soap I chose to enter was the second attempt. I’ll post the first one in the sign up thread. Other than the marble challenge I haven’t made soap in a slab mold and this makes me want to make more. There are so many amazing possibilities for designs using a slab. This was poured in a CC 6 inch silicon slab mold. My first one was done in a NS oblong slab. I liked the square mold as it ended up more symmetrical and I like symmetry. Poured over the bottom half of a soda bottle.
Scented with NS BRV and colored with MM Tickled Pink, Maniacal Pea, AC and TD
Lighting wasn’t great in this pic. It’s actually a bit brighter in person. Thank you @dibbles for hosting.